This invention relates to a safety bag adapted to be inflated in a vehicle in order to act as a cushion to protect an occupant of the vehicle in the event of an emergency situation, such as collision. More particularly, this invention relates to a vehicle safety bag which has been specially folded to reduce the impact of the bag upon the occupant during inflation and deployment of the bag. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a vehicle safety bag adapted for the driver and a vehicle safety bag adapted for the passenger, both safety bags having reduced impact upon the occupant, driver or passenger.
Safety bags are used in vehicle, such as automobiles, to protect the occupant of the vehicle during emergency situations, such as collision. In its deflated, folded condition, the safety bag may be disposed in the steering column, in the dashboard, or in other locations within the passenger compartment of the vehicle. In an emergency situation, such as collision or overturn, when the occupant is suddenly thrown forward, the safety bags are adapted to be inflated and deployed by a gas to cushion the occupant, thereby reducing the possibility of injury to the occupant.
It is desirable to soften or cushion the contact of the safety bag upon the occupant, including the driver, when the bag is inflated and deployed. It is especially desirable in situations where the occupant is a young child who is standing between the right front passenger seat and the dashboard of the automobile, the "standing child". The standing child will be contacted by the deploying bag sooner than a normally seated occupant of the right front passenger seat because the standing child is closer to the right front passenger (RFP) bag.
Among the prior art folding techniques which have been used with vehicle safety bags are the "bubble roll" and the "accordion fold". A prior art folding technique known as Origami folding is an ancient Oriental art of paper folding which is not known to have been used heretofore in connection with folding vehicle safety bags.
While some of the inflatable safety bags of the prior art have pleats when the bag is in deflated, folded condition, in the prior art the pleats are adjacent and parallel to one another. For exmple, U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,855 to Wright discloses an inflatable safety bag having a series of pleats fastened by breakable bindings to a mounting. U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,477 to Wulbrecht discloses a safety bag having a plurality of folded layers in a rolled configuration which form a transitory bubble upon inflation. Other U.S. Pat. Nos. disclosing inflatable safety bags having adjacent and parallel pleats are: 3,706,462 to Lilly; 3,632,136 to Foltz; and 3,473,824 to Carey et al. None of the prior art folding techniques disclose a specially folded vehicle safety bag, either for the driver or for the passenger, which exhibits the property of reduced impact on the occupant.